The tx command handles transaction operations. Currently, it supports transferring tokens between accounts.
Send Transfer Transfer tokens from one account to another.
minichain tx send --from < NAM E > --to < ADDRES S > --amount < AMOUN T > [OPTIONS]
Basic Usage cargo run --release -- tx send \ --from alice \ --to 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d6e9f2a5c8b1d4e7f \ --amount 100
Output: Sending transfer transaction... From: 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a7c9e2b8d5f3a1c6e To: 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d6e9f2a5c8b1d4e7f Amount: 100 Nonce: 0 Balance: 50000 ✓ Transaction created Hash: 0x7d9f2a5c8e4b1f3a6c9e2d5f8a1c4e7b... ✓ Transaction submitted to mempool Transaction will be included in the next block. Use minichain block produce to produce a block.
Options From Account Keypair name of the sender (without .json extension).
Example: --from alice --from bob --from authority_0
The CLI loads the private key from data/keys/<name>.json to sign the transaction.
To Address Recipient address in hexadecimal format with 0x prefix.
Example: --to 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d6e9f2a5c8b1d4e7f
Amount Number of tokens to transfer.
Example: --amount 100 --amount 1000000
Gas Price Gas price per unit. Defaults to 1.
Example: Total gas cost: gas_cost = 21000 * gas_price
For the default gas price of 1, transfer transactions cost 21,000 tokens.
Gas pricing affects transaction priority. Higher gas prices may be prioritized in the mempool (though currently mempool ordering is first-in-first-out).
Data Directory Specifies blockchain data location. Defaults to ./data.
Transaction Flow When you send a transaction:
Load keypair - Private key loaded from data/keys/<name>.jsonGet nonce - Current nonce fetched from account stateCheck balance - Verifies sufficient funds for amount + gasCreate transaction - Transaction object constructed with all parametersSign transaction - Ed25519 signature generated using private keySubmit to mempool - Transaction added to pending transaction poolWait for block - Authority must produce a block to execute the transaction
Transaction Anatomy A transfer transaction contains:
Transaction { from : Address , // Sender address to : Some ( Address ), // Recipient address data : Vec :: new (), // Empty for transfers amount : u64 , // Token amount nonce : u64 , // Sender's nonce gas_limit : 21000 , // Base transaction cost gas_price : u64 , // Gas price per unit signature : Signature , // Ed25519 signature }
Nonce Management Each account tracks a nonce (number used once) to prevent replay attacks:
First transaction: nonce = 0Second transaction: nonce = 1Third transaction: nonce = 2…
The CLI automatically fetches the current nonce from account state when creating transactions.
If you manually create transactions, you must use sequential nonces. Transactions with incorrect nonces will be rejected.
Gas Costs Transfer transactions have a fixed gas cost:
Operation Gas Cost Base transaction 21,000
Example calculation: # Transfer 100 tokens with gas_price = 1 Amount: 100 Gas cost: 21,000 * 1 = 21,000 Total: 21,100 tokens deducted from sender Received: 100 tokens added to recipient
The sender pays the gas cost, not the recipient. The recipient receives exactly the specified amount.
Balance Verification Before submitting, the CLI checks the sender has sufficient balance:
$ minichain tx send --from alice --to 0xBOB... --amount 1000000 Error: Insufficient balance: have 50000, need 1021000 ( amount 1000000 + gas 21000 )
The sender must have:
balance >= amount + (gas_limit * gas_price)
Complete Example Here’s a full transfer workflow:
# 1. Check Alice's initial balance minichain account balance 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a... # Output: Balance: 50000 # 2. Check Bob's initial balance minichain account balance 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d... # Output: Balance: 0 # 3. Send 100 tokens from Alice to Bob minichain tx send \ --from alice \ --to 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d... \ --amount 100 # Output: # ✓ Transaction submitted to mempool # 4. Produce a block to execute the transaction minichain block produce --authority authority_0 # Output: # ✓ Block produced # Txs: 1 # 5. Verify Alice's new balance (50000 - 100 - 21000 = 28900) minichain account balance 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a... # Output: Balance: 28900 # 6. Verify Bob's new balance (0 + 100 = 100) minichain account balance 0x8d2c5e9f1a4b7c3d... # Output: Balance: 100 # 7. Check Alice's nonce incremented minichain account info 0x3f8c2a6e9b5d1f4a... # Output: # Balance: 28900 # Nonce: 1
Transaction Finality Transactions are immediately final once included in a block:
✓ Single-node blockchain (no chain reorganizations)
✓ PoA consensus with deterministic authority selection
✓ Blocks cannot be reverted or replaced
Once you see “Block produced”, the transaction is permanently recorded.
Multiple Transactions You can submit multiple transactions to the mempool before producing a block:
# Submit 3 transactions minichain tx send --from alice --to 0xBOB... --amount 50 minichain tx send --from alice --to 0xCHARLIE... --amount 75 minichain tx send --from bob --to 0xALICE... --amount 25 # Produce one block to execute all 3 minichain block produce --authority authority_0 # Output: # ✓ Block produced # Txs: 3
Transactions from the same sender must maintain sequential nonces. The CLI automatically handles this by fetching the latest nonce before each transaction.
Common Errors Insufficient Balance Error: Insufficient balance: have 50000, need 1021000 ( amount 1000000 + gas 21000 )
Solution: Reduce the amount or mint more tokens to the sender.Keypair Not Found Error: Keypair file not found: data/keys/alice.json. Use 'minichain account new' to create one.
Solution: Create the account first with minichain account new --name alice.Invalid Address Error: Invalid recipient address: 0xinvalid
Solution: Use a valid hex address with correct length (32 bytes).Next Steps
Produce Blocks Learn how to include transactions in blocks
Deploy Contracts Deploy smart contracts instead of simple transfers